looking for abit of advice when pigging out

[wiserkurtious]

Hi guys so I've come to ask for a little advice,I'vehad diabetes for just under a year and am currently in the honeymoon period,long may it last .I was on basal 10 units morning and night,but due to hypo's I eventually was told to come off of insulin to see how things would go,that was sept of last year on no other medication.So I'm off to pictures tonight and yes I do like to pig out While there,I've noticed in the past that after checking bloodsugars I would hit the 9s,I get a large bag of sweet popcorn,mad i know right So I've some fast acting in the fridge thinking of taking a unit before hand tonight and I'm a little nervous.

 

[TorqPenderloin]

I'm in a somewhat similar situation as a honeymooner although I do take insulin every day.

It's not wise to blindly inject insulin without having a specific plan (i.e. Carb counting). I wouldn't just take "a unit" unless that's exactly how much you need.

While many diabetics need to inject 15-30 minutes before a meal, I personally wait until the moment I get my food or sometimes even 10-15 minutes after. I find that that approach avoids hypos early on and my little remaining insulin helps avoid large initial spikes.

As a honeymooner (this doesn't apply to long-term t1) I'd be very careful injecting to early before a meal as that can pose potential problems.

 

[mentat]

The pancreas is "smart" - if your sugar is in the target zone it will stop releasing insulin. However, insulin injections are "dumb" - after an injection, fast acting insulin continues entering the blood for 3-5 hours (although it tapers off a lot after the first hour).

My guess is that an injection of a couple of units will reduce your peak sugar levels and take some strain off your pancreas, but you will be at greater risk of hypo 2-4 hours later (especially because the food you eat is likely to be fast-digesting).

If you want to experiment like this, make sure you test frequently, and don't assume that if it works once it will work the same way every time.

 

[pinewood]

My guess is that an injection of a couple of units will reduce your peak sugar levels and take some strain off your pancreas, but you will be at greater risk of hypo 2-4 hours later (especially because the food you eat is likely to be fast-digesting).

I think this is exactly right. It'll likely help you stay in the 5-6 zone but you'll have a hypo risk at 2-4 hours so I'd be diligent at checking your blood sugar.

 

[wiserkurtious]

I'm in a somewhat similar situation as a honeymooner although I do take insulin every day.

It's not wise to blindly inject insulin without having a specific plan (i.e. Carb counting). I wouldn't just take "a unit" unless that's exactly how much you need.

While many diabetics need to inject 15-30 minutes before a meal, I personally wait until the moment I get my food or sometimes even 10-15 minutes after. I find that that approach avoids hypos early on and my little remaining insulin helps avoid large initial spikes.

As a honeymooner (this doesn't apply to long-term t1) I'd be very careful injecting to early before a meal as that can pose potential problems.

as I'm obviously still producing insulin I used a unit as a estimate as I presume that 1 unit per 10,15,or even 20 carb's would be hard for to work out for some1 in my position,i wouldn t be carb counting as such just kinda helping me poor likkle pancreas out

 

[wiserkurtious]

I think this is exactly right. It'll likely help you stay in the 5-6 zone but you'll have a hypo risk at 2-4 hours so I'd be diligent at checking your blood sugar.

Always check me bloods religiously so there'd be no problem there

 

[mentat]

just kinda helping me poor likkle pancreas out

This is actually a wise move. As I understand, the immune system marks "stressed" cells for destruction because they could be defective/cancerous. And overworked beta cells show signs of stress. So the less they have to work the better. A low-carb diet would probably be better than eating a regular diet and injecting insulin. Even if you hate the idea of giving up carbs, please do consider it, because once your honeymoon ends there's no going back.

Just FYI - chocolate is a great long-acting carb. (It is high in fat and the fat does not get broken down till the small intestine.) So if you want to "pig out" and take some insulin, consider including some chocolate.

 

[wiserkurtious]

Took a unit 10 mins before meal,checked bs 2hours later 4.6 so It helped

 

[the_anticarb]

I do this all the time, inject a little extra insulin if I want to have some 'treat' carbs. If you can get away with only one unit for a whole box of popcorn I'm very impressed, I'd need to inject a lot more for that!